


You Should Be Happy

by notamundane2004



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, eleven is a good gf, mike is sad, they’re both happy in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 01:28:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15570744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notamundane2004/pseuds/notamundane2004
Summary: Isolated from his family, Mike calls Eleven, hoping she can make things better. Of course, she rushes over, and El realizes she’d do anything to make him happy.Fluff follows after the angst.





	You Should Be Happy

**Author's Note:**

> This idea kind of came to me, so at midnight I started writing this, and finished at a similar time today. Hope you all enjoy!

When Eleven’s phone rings, she expects Hopper, or even Max. What she doesn’t expect is Mike, his voice shaky like he’d been crying, asking her to come over.  
“Mike, what’s wrong?” Eleven asks with sincere concern. She had only seen him cry a few times, and that was mostly when they were younger. Years of his father telling him to be more of a man, on the rare occasions they spoke, had hardened him on the inside. Sure he was still very affectionate with El, but around his family they were almost strangers.   
“I’m sorry I called, it’s late, I-“ Mike starts, his voice cracking. Eleven’s heart speeds up, something is most certainly wrong.  
“Mike, whatever it is, you can tell me,” she whispers gently. She hears him take a deep breath, before starting to speak again.  
“It’s just, Nancy’s at college, Holly’s at a sleepover, and my parents were fighting. It got bad, really bad. Now my dad’s gone, probably out drinking. And my mom locked herself in the bathroom. I just, I don’t know what to do,” he lets out, defeated. Suddenly, El’s heart sank. To hear such suffering coming from the person who made her life brighter was heartbreaking. Mike was always making others happy, he didn’t deserve to go through this alone.   
“I’ll be there, as soon as I can,” Eleven said in response, hanging up the phone. Hopper was at a late night shift, which she was thankful for. He’d probably have let her go, because it was a serious situation, but she didn’t want to worry him too. The girl walked out of her house, despite the fact that it was freezing out, and hopped on her bike. All she could do was peddle away, with the hope that when she reached the Wheeler house, Mike would be ok. 

“Mike,” her breathless call echoed into the nearly empty home. The door was unlocked, so she’d let herself in. Eleven took her coat off, placing it gently on the coat hanger. She stepped gingerly, wondering where her boyfriend was. It didn’t take long to find him, lying on his couch, staring emptily at the television. It wasn’t even turned on. He did look up when she entered, and he got up so he could see her better. Mike patted to the spot beside him, and Eleven sat down next to him. She wrapped an arm around his neck, her cream colored sweater itching the back of his skin.   
“You came,” he muttered, nestling his face into her arm. She smiled into his hair, “Of course I came.” Mike looked up at her, and she could see just how bloodshot his eyes were. There were also dark circles under his already pale eyes. El reached out and stroked his ivory skin, tracing each little freckle. They didn’t say anything, they didn’t have to. She knew how he was feeling, and that was that. Mike would talk when he was ready to talk, she needn’t pry. His parents had been fighting for years, but it must have been really bad if Ted left, and Karen wouldn’t leave the bathroom. Eleven had been led to believe that families like hers, or Will’s weren’t perfect because they were different. But soon she realized the perfect nuclear family had their own problems. The Wheelers were a prime example.  
Mike slowly lifted his head up, and dipped over to give El a soft kiss. She could feel his sadness, in the gentleness of his touch, and the way he held back. She pressed their foreheads together, their noses nudging one another. Mike closed his eyes, dark eyelashes caressing Eleven’s eyelids. She let out a small breath, not realizing her heart had been pounding. Eleven relaxed, letting her knuckles soften, and her forehead unwrinkle. Mike went on for anything kiss, but this time he was more in to it. It wasn’t as lazy, or even sad. This time he moved frantically, and desperately. Eleven didn’t know what to do anymore, her brain had frozen and all she could think about was Mike. Ever since they were young, he had always jammed her head. Her thoughts are of him often, and he was like background music for her brain. Sure, they’d been together for years, but every kiss, even holding hands, shocked her. She pulls away from him, eyes wide.

“Mike, what do you need?” She asks earnestly. She was willing to do whatever he wanted, if it made him feel better.  
“I need to forget El. I only want to think of you,” he murmurs, grabbing her hand, and pulling her off the couch.  
“My mom might come out, and I don’t want to see her right now,” he explains, pulling her up the stairs. And just like that, they were kids again. Mike draggs Eleven up the stairs so Karen wont discover her. In a way, she is happy those days were gone, and she could be out in the open. Yet it was hard to pretend all the time, even if she knew it was for her own safety. With strangers she was Jane Hopper, but with the people she cares about, she’d always be El. Mike shut his door, not slamming it because at that point he was drained. Eleven was startled at him pulling her towards him, so they both fell into his bed. Eleven stares at the boy in front of her, he is still the same Mike who she met in the rain. He is still the Mike that took her to the Snowball, gave her her first kiss, and called her for 353 days. She was going to dispel all the sad from him, by whatever means she needed to. Eleven kisses his lips, biting down on his skin. She can feel him tensing, returning her kiss. Hands rake through curly brown tendrils, grasping for anything. Eleven moves down to his collarbone, feeling him suck in his breath. She leaves little kisses on each spot, each one a promise. I love you, I love you, I love you. Wordless, yet it meant so much. Mike is in a bad place, so she doesn’t take advantage of that, but if he feels better by being with her, she won’t stop. Hands slip under her sweater, tugging at the fabric. Mike’s fingers trailed over her spine, feeling every indent and curve. She pulls her sweater over her head, before grasping at Mike’s shirt. He snickers at her, before pulling it off easily. Eleven rolls her eyes, trying to get rid of the grin on her face. They lay together, skin to skin, happy just to be in each other’s presence. Mike smells like sea salt and laundry detergent, and she basks in his scent. Her nose nestles into the crevice off his shoulder, burrowing through. He giggles, before pressing a kiss on her forehead. She sits up, as does Mike.

“So Mike, what do you want to do?” She asks him softly. He smiles at her, while it’s a little sad, he looks mostly better.  
“I just want to be with you.”  
“And you will be,” Eleven whispers into his ear. Both of them nuzzle against each Mike’s peaceful humming lulling then to sleep. Sure, Hopper might be upset that she stayed over at Mike’s, but he’d be understanding. He knew all too well that the Wheelers weren’t perfect. For now, El doesn’t think of her dad, or that she has school the next day. She only thinks of Mike, and the happiness he deserves.


End file.
